Roy Magnussen is the CEO of OSO Hotwater Group, one of the Norwegian partners in a new pilot project involving Saint John Energy. Image: Video capture from Zoom
Saint John Energy has partnered with Norwegian companies on a pilot project involving smart water heating technology and energy forecasting techniques.
The project includes OSO Energy, Kongsberg Digital and Epos Consulting, with assistance from Innovation Norway and the Government of Canada through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Ryan Mitchell, president and CEO of Saint John Energy, said OSO Energy approached them about working together to support the development of their OSO charge system.
OSO has provided water heaters to the utility for 25 years.
“Through those discussions, OSO introduced Saint John Energy to the other leading organizations in Norway. We’ve been very impressed with the energy transition that is happening in Norway, so a natural partnership based on common interests quickly emerged,” Mitchell said.
Saint John Energy will install OSO Charge technology into its grid and be able to select customers’ homes.
The water heaters are forecastable, interactive and “offer a secure way to manage and balance energy,” said the utility.
This technology comes with the OSO inCharge app which allows customers to see their energy use and observe its positive effect on peak demand and greenhouse gas emissions.
The advanced smart grid of Saint John Energy will communicate with the OSO Charge units in customers’ homes to balance energy demand while also prioritizing customer comfort.
Mitchell said 50 homes will be included for the pilot project from the same feeder area. Interested homeowners can sign up to take part through an online form.
The local utility will be working with longtime partner OSO Hotwater Group which was founded in 1932 becoming Norway’s first manufacturer of water heaters.
They build Europe’s first mass-produced stainless steel water heaters.
CEO Roy Magnussen said the company developed a control system for their electric products as terminal storage systems.
“This system is one of our contributions for a sustainable society with benefits of saving energy costs for the consumer and on the demand side, flexibility for the energy provider to reduce peak load challenges,” Magnussen said.
Another partner, Kongsberg Digital, will develop high-resolution simulations allowing Saint John Energy to predict and manage spikes in energy usage.
Jonathan Sørbye of Innovation Norway said 98 per cent of the country’s electricity production comes from renewable energy sources.
“We have a proud oil and gas industry in which we are now putting much efforts and capital in order to do a transition to offshore wind,” Sørbye said.
New smart water heater pilot will use the latest technology to harness the thermal storage potential in customer homes: https://t.co/C5MFEjnsuR
Thanks to @ACOACanada and @GOVT_RBX for helping us to team up with OSO, @kognifai and EPOS Consulting. #poweringourfuture #digitaltwin
— Saint John Energy (@SJENERGY) March 15, 2022
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